As we assumed the podium at this year’s AUA Urology Advocacy Summit, we understood the importance of our pending presentation. We were tasked with orienting the trainees who were attending their first summit, but we also hoped to inspire those listening to engage in advocacy in urology beyond the one-time event.

We asked attendees to consider their “why” for advocacy. That may stem from experiences with patients, the frustrations of an inefficient and redundant system, or concern for the financial stability of our futures as physicians. All these disparate motivations can be collected under a single umbrella goal: the goal to empower physicians and patients to be in control of the health care system they inhabit. When defined broadly like this, advocacy may be practiced at many levels, from the community, the hospital, the state, or the federal level.

There are tangible examples of urologists making huge impacts at each one of these levels. We chose to highlight the work of several, including former Gallagher fellow Dr Denise Asafu-Adjei, who created a free e-course on health policy for urologists, as well as Dr Chad Ellimoottil, who has become an expert in telehealth and testified to Congress on the subject. We also emphasized joining the newly formed Policy & Advocacy Resident work group as an accessible way to get involved in advocacy projects that are already ongoing. Currently with 67 general members plus an executive board of 18 additional residents, fellows, and medical students, the Policy & Advocacy Resident work group has seen exponential growth from its inception just a few years ago. It was no coincidence that many of the examples of urologists performing advocacy work highlighted in the presentation were those who have been featured in the virtual “fireside chats” the Policy & Advocacy Resident work group hosts throughout the year with exemplary urologists engaging in advocacy work.

With all these advocacy success stories in mind, we delved into the details of the Summit weekend. The main purpose of the Summit is to meet with representatives in the House and Senate to make a case for a series of “asks,” which are predetermined by the AUA’s survey of its members. This year’s “asks” were to stop planned cuts to the physician reimbursement component of the Medicare budget, to continue equal reimbursement of telehealth, and to pass several measures that would address a further shortage of urologists. Summit attendees are organized by state and spend the day on the Hill, in in-person meetings with their state’s representatives, sharing stories and data to draw attention to these concerns. In our introductory presentation we outlined the strategies and tactics most likely to make these meetings efficient and effective, focusing especially on the importance of sharing our personal perspectives as physicians and trying to incorporate the voices of our patients.

For clinicians who are experts in turning complex topics into digestible, personable information for our patients, transforming our experiences into supporting evidence for our legal action “asks” is just a way of scaling the work we do every day. We tend to be so busy in our practice that we forget how much inside knowledge we have and how valuable our perspective can be. We made sure to emphasize that advanced financial or public health knowledge is not necessary before these meetings; self-reflection is the most important part of the preparation process. Finally, we stressed the importance of follow-up with representatives after the Summit, including stories of success from prior email and in-person visit follow-ups.

We hope our presentation demystified Hill visits and illuminated a framework for first-time attendees to make the transition from clinician to advocate feel natural and empowering. By extension, we hope it imbued attendees with inspiration to continue the journey of scaling their daily advocacy work for patients into larger advocacy work going forward. The daily refrain so many of us are familiar with, “I’m just doing the best I can, for as many people as I can, as efficiently and safely as possible” can be applied to both a day in the hospital as well as a day on the Hill. The urologists engaged in advocacy derive purpose not only from clinical care but also from being able to effectively lead their patients, colleagues, and fellow citizens into a better health care experience.